Energy
by Acronik
Summary: Collection of drabbles. Observe, experience, make a conclusion, repeat. Mac will always find a scientific explanation, even for his own feelings.
1. Static

**STATIC**

Mac wasn't expecting it. Then again, he was used to face the unexpected on a daily basis so he wasn't surprised either. It all started with that mission. Really, Mac had known Riley's secret for a few days (interesting how he had to be at an imminent life or death situation to bring up the topic).

The conversation had been revealing. He even surprised himself by sharing some of his own thoughts. Funny the way their reasons to have their relationships fail were totally opposite to each other. Later, imminent risk gone, none of them had mentioned it again. He was giving her privacy (or at least that's what he told himself).

Her words wouldn't leave his mind and each word felt like a cold shower in a winter morning. They just worked together? That annoyed him, although he couldn't blame her. There were eighteen months of silence in between them. Yes, that would inevitably change a relationship.

After that Mac made it a habit to text regularly, off work hours, to the whole team. He observed them more, knowing that this profession often drove them to bottle up their life issues during missions.

But then this thing happened.

It began at the team celebrations. Ever since Phoenix got back together after mission's ritual was a must. They'd go to Mac's apartment (he made an effort to keep it tidy, if only the main area), Desi wouldn't let anyone else but her ask for the pizzas (she got the role after everyone else cheated to bring their own favorite flavor to the party), Matty and Russ wouldn't stop bickering (Bozer called it the "Tell The Best Story and Win" segment), Riley would prep some music and Bozer would have the beer ready for the toast.

And after the toast they would hug. Fraternal, uncomplicated hugs. Mac didn't understand how it turned into a _thing_.

He didn't think too much when Riley happened to be the one he looked forward celebrating with. He didn't think too much of how good it felt. He most certainly didn't think too much when she didn't let go immediately (or how neither did he).

Oh, not thinking about it didn't equal to not noticing. Angus MacGyver couldn't avoid being observant. They'd sit next to each other and when Bozer told one of those jokes that had them laughing out loud, his body would use it as an excuse to come closer to her, he noticed. When he poured her a drink and their hands slightly touched, he noticed. When she walked away and his eyes followed her, he noticed.

It had to be a physical phenomenon. The _thing_. Mac would lay late at night thinking about what pulled him to her. He'd think about how his skin would tickle whenever she was around, as if all the atoms of his body rebelled against something he couldn't see. As if she had a magnet attached and he had a highly ferromagnetic object on him. Except they didn't carry anything, they _were_ it.

But it also had to be chemical, Mac concluded, because how else could he explain that every time their skins came into contact this _thing_, this _tingling_, this _magnetism_ grew stronger just like a reaction being catalyzed.

They were two charged individuals with their bodies accumulating a tension that could only be released when their magnetic fields were around each other's.

From then on when this _thing_ happened, when she asked him to hold her keys for a second and his hand would instinctively search for hers, Mac would notice and he would revel in the experience of their static coming into life as he purposefully let his hand linger on hers./span/p

(In the boy scout reunion Mac gave them a whole lesson on electromagnetic fields and Lorentz's Law. He was inspired.)

* * *

Set after 4x05.


	2. Solar Wind

**SOLAR WIND**

The team had a carefully crafted plan for this particularly dangerous undercover mission. Amongst other details, they had decided they wouldn't arrive to the party together to keep the appearances. So when the time came, one by one, they left their hotel rooms. Except for the happily newlywed couple, clearly, who were currently sharing one of the rented cars. Mac was at the wheel.

_Silence._

Mac had given up on letting go the ominous feeling that lurked over him ever since they had designed the plan. There was also this restlessness that showed up when he knocked on Riley's door exactly at 20:14 (after a ten minutes delay due to a fierce fight against his own bow tie that he had won). But it wasn't because of the small box that Bozer had slipped in his pocket before, _of course not_.

Basically, a nervous and brooding MacGyver meant that he wasn't in a talkative mood. Still, her silence irked him. It made him more aware of her presence. It reminded him that "things were different between them". It frustrated him, different _how_? His mind spiraled with all type of thoughts, distracting him from the mission and he couldn't afford that. So at the next red light he inhaled deeply and took out the blue velvety box.

"Right, here… Riley, can I have your hand for a moment? No, the left one," he blurted.

She raised a questioning eyebrow but conveyed. Her lips formed a little "oh" when Mac put a ring on her finger.

Something in the world shifted then.

Mac couldn't understand exactly what it was but as he saw the happiest smile taking shape in her pretty face the world shifted slightly. The idea that he was the reason for such an expression to come to existence caused an explosion within him and something buried deep inside him struggled to make it to the surface.

All of sudden his senses intensified, magnified and everything was… _more_. Mac felt oversensitive in a way he hadn't before. Adrenaline rushed through his veins, his hand burned over hers. It was like his eyes captured colors more vividly and his lungs filled with the purest oxygen.

For an instant he pictured the Aurora Borealis, a colorful display of beauty and overdosed energy. For an instant, a fraction of a second, it was like a coctail of excited particles wind ran all over him. It was like a storm of solar wind that travelled and searched for something, until it reached his hand and found release in the form of the softest caress on their point of contact over that ring.

He really couldn't understand how the simplest action brought out so many emotions within him.

The red light changed to green and they had to let go, the moment gone, leaving their hands _hot_ and _itchy_ and _empty_. Mac allowed himself to release the breath he didn't know he had been holding.

What had happened there?

Mac smiled at the irony of finding the Aurora Borealis as a fitting answer. A phenomenon yet to be fully explained by science, the same way he still couldn't completely comprehend his emotions. One thing he knew for sure, just as the Nothern Lights were a marvellous showcase of energy discharge, he had just lived through the same delightful experience.

The unreal moment that they shared had left him strangely relaxed, with a lightness that could be qualified as content. And Riley being Riley cracked a joke to ease the tension. It worked. From then on words flowed easily.

"What do we say if they ask how we met?" Mac asked.

"I guess a first encounter at jail isn't very romantic, is it?" she teased.

"Are you kidding? That's the definition of an epic story."

"Worthy of telling to our grandchildren, you say."

He forced himself to _not_ think about the implications of her statement. "They would never get bored, that's a given."

They laughed, flustered and happy.

It occurred to Mac that he hadn't felt so at ease in a _long_ while and he couldn't help but to notice that he wasn't thinking about a foreboding future anymore.

(Later on Mac wouldn't resist the temptation of grabbing her hand and touching their contact point again with the hope that maybe, only maybe, he would experience the Aurora Borealis without actually going to Canada.)

* * *

Set after 4x05

Thanks for all the likes, follows and reviews guys! I wasn't expecting the attention! Thank you so, so much.


	3. Thunderstorm

**THUNDERSTORM**

Mac was tired. So incredibly tired.

A content hum resonated deep in his chest when the sore muscles on his shoulders surrendered to the hot water of the shower. Days of amassed tension resting there washed away. He believed he had a knot for every trouble he'd faced lately.

At least he felt the pain. At least it wasn't the usual numbness that came after the adrenaline rush.

Truth be told, he had thought that after Phoenix was reestablished he would get over with that feeling, that the pressure on his chest would fade away and he would be able to breathe again.

However, along with a tide of anguish came the realization that it was still in there, growing in density the same way unstable air accumulates on the atmosphere right before a thunderstorm. It frustrated him because he knew that with thunderstorms came the lightning bolts and, as long as he didn't know how to deal with it, this thing building up inside him would find its violent release sooner or later.

Mac's daily life was surrounded by a cloud of doubt that he couldn't shake off. The stuff shifting in his soul was as unpredictable as a lightning bolt. Could he afford being so volatile when his own work was full of changing variables?

He let out a frustrated grunt. If only he could stop thinking for a moment.

Ironically, as if nature delighted itself on his stormy thoughts, a loud thunder came through over the rain and then everything went pitch black. Mac sighed with resignation and turned off the shower, immediately missing the heated water. As his body cooled down, the stiffness came back and Mac felt irritation taking over him. Only a bit of peace, that's all he wanted. Was it really that hard to get?

He threw away his towel, probably with more force than needed. He passed on wearing a shirt to put on a pair of pants. The smallest task seemed strenuous when his aching body begged for relaxation.

Staying still for a moment, Mac embraced the darkness and let out a new sigh, trying to release some of the irritation. It worked, kind of. While he walked towards the living room to deal with the lights, he came to the conclusion that getting irritated was useless.

Then frustration got easily replaced with numbness. It was always the same.

Except that this time someone interrupted his brooding.

"Riley, are you sure it is over here?" Bozer's voice said, surprising Mac.

"Is it not? I can't find my phone in this darkness," Riley's voice replied.

Mac went straight towards the circuit breaker near the living room and pushed up the switches that had shot down because of the storm, the lights turning back on.

As if he wasn't surprised enough that his friends had broken into his house without his knowledge, now he saw that his kitchen had been used to prepare dinner.

"I think you were looking for this," he said, handing Riley the phone that had been sitting on the couch, their fingers brushing against each other.

"Hey, there," she said, trying not to stare at his bare chest.

"Hey there yourself," he didn't know why he whispered it. "Didn't hear you guys coming in."

"Yeah, it's raining pretty heavily," she wore an unapologetic smile. "So we might've decided to break in beforehand."

Unexpectedly, the lightness of her words anchored him and warmed him. The turbulent, dark thoughts stopped churning out of control for a moment. He wondered if it wasn't just the calm before an unavoidable storm.

Right then, he didn't care. Riley was there. Bozer was there.

"Is that your way of telling me my security system sucks?" he teased.

"Given that I installed it in the first place, no. It's my way of saying that after today's mission we wanted to have dinner with you tonight no matter what."

Riley stared at him as if she was able to read his mind, all amusement gone. By the he realized he was delaying his reply, Mac knew she saw the storm in his eyes. He avoided her gaze and walked towards the window. Rain fell relentlessly. The sky brightened from continuous flashes.

"Do you know how lightning happens, Riles?" She didn't need to answer, Mac was aware of her presence near him. "This energy builds up in the atmosphere making particles go crazy. It's chaotic. Particles collide everywhere polarizing the air until they find a point to connect and discharge all that energy."

She remained silent. Riley understood that his use of science was the easiest way for him to explain his feelings and that what Mac needed wasn't advice but someone to speak to. She knew all too well how he kept his issues for himself.

When a few seconds passed, Mac took a glance at her. Riley was contemplating the rain, thinking. He felt the warmth spread in him once again.

"What's Bozer doing anyways?" He asked, bringing them back to the present.

"Oh, you'll see," she said and coughed. "You should go put on a shirt though."

"Like what you see?"

Riley rolled her eyes and left for the kitchen. Mac laughed.

The moment was gone but something between them had shifted. Their connection had gotten stronger.

(Riley had dared Bozer to cook dinner. He had managed pretty well, except for the little bit of sugar that had gone into the boiling water instead of salt during the power outage. The laughs they had that night were exactly what Mac had needed to stop thinking.)

* * *

Set after 4x06

First of all, thanks to YOU for sparing part of your time to read this little thing! And specials thanks to Shura and tomorrowsjustadreamaway for their awesome feedback!

I'm planning on making at least one for every episode. I had this written down weeks ago but didn't know if I wanted to post it because I thought it was too angsty. After watching 4x08 I realize this idea is going in the right direction.


	4. Gears

**GEARS**

They didn't talk about it.

Whenever Riley exited the shower she would leave the med kit in sight because she knew Mac would be back from his boxing session with more than a few bruises that he didn't want to get treated so that he could keep a tough image in front of his girlfriend.

They didn't talk about him buying her favorite shampoo right after she moved into his house. Riley had mentioned it once in a casual conversation and he had remembered. She hadn't pointed it out.

They didn't talk about the comfortable early morning talks with hot chocolate when the city was still sleeping and the two of them seemed to be the only ones awake.

They didn't talk about how Mac was the one with light sleep yet Riley was always there, with a sleepy face and messy hair, in the quietness before sunrise, sharing with him the solitude and keeping the turbulent thoughts away.

They didn't talk about the text that was sent when one of them was out late asking if they were alright or how they suddenly felt discouraged to follow through with their plans and head back home after reading the message.

They didn't talk about how the word "home" became a regular word in their conversations.

They didn't talk about Riley's apartment hunt that, even though Mac itched to help her find the right one. She had vaguely let him know that she was doing it after staying a week at his house. He had said that there was no rush on her moving out; she had stopped talking about it.

They didn't talk about her creeping in whenever Mac was onto a new experiment or how she made a suggestion out of nowhere. It made Mac feel more enthusiastic. He always kept the thought to himself.

They didn't talk about the awkwardness when his girlfriend was around (that, lately, it was all the time). They were friends so there was no air to clear out, right? Right.

Some Saturday mornings, Riley would put on Phil Collins while cleaning the house. Mac wouldn't let her see his satisfied smile. They didn't talk about that either.

They just _were._

Physics explains that as one gear turns, the other gear must also turn. Where the gears meet, the teeth must both move in the same direction.

The harmony that existed in their non-established routine reminded Mac of two gears that complemented each other by lending their force to get into motion. It was as if they naturally knew the exact amount of moment the other one could take on at any given time. Between them, the day by day was simple and easy.

Every sigh, every smile, every spoken word and every silence too. Every breath in their shared air was energy lended to help the rusted gears that were his life spin again.

They functioned like two newly oiled, embedded gears that smoothly ran in the same direction.

He didn't mention this either, of course. But sometimes, when they were in the kitchen, as Riley grabbed an empty glass and Mac automatically reached for the bottle of water, their eyes meet and they knew.

They knew and they felt it. That was how it was supposed to be.

(Then Riley got more serious about the apartment hunt and Mac hadn't opposed it because their synchronicity made him feel off guard.

He promised himself he was going to check on her often.

He didn't think that was odd at all.)

* * *

Set after 4x07

Hi! Again, thanks for reading, thanks for being on the other side of the screen sharing this! And especially thanks to tomorrowsjustadreamaway and Shura for proof reading this ^^!

I hope you enjoy and see you next chapter~


End file.
